Railer swimmers eighth at state

Monday

Feb 18, 2013 at 6:07 PMFeb 18, 2013 at 6:07 PM

By Mark Schnabel Newton Kansan

TOPEKA — The Newton High School boys’ swimming team ended the season with an eighth-place team finish and six medals at the Class 5-4-3-2-1A state championships Saturday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium in Topeka. Shawnee Mission South won the team title with 236 points, followed by Topeka Hayden at 199, Maize South 183, Bishop Miege at 178, Wichita Collegiate at 156, Blue Valley Southwest at 148, St. James Academy at 145, Newton at 122, Kapaun-Mt. Carmel at 97 and Bishop Carroll at 83. There were 27 teams that scored. “That’s pretty good,” Newton coach Philip Schmidt said. “We came in not knowing what to expect. We did pretty good the first day (Friday’s preliminaries). It comes down to how you talk to the guys and get ready for that second day. We didn’t always have that same energy the second day that we had the first day. That happened to us last year. We cut some times in some events and didn’t quite hold our spaces in others. “I’m really proud of the guys. We’ve had a close team this year. It will be hard to see some of these guys go.” Alex Trumble finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.43. Dylan Anderson finished fourth in the consolation finals, 12th overall, in 1:55.63. Trumble finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:03.69. Trumble broke five minutes in the prelims, finishing at 4:57.19. Jace Schmidt finished fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.72. Dylan Moore took eighth in the consolation finals, 16th overall, in 1:11.46. Jace Schmidt finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:08.27. Trumble and Schmidt both named to the Kansas Swimming Coaches Association All-State second team. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Preston Ford, Dick, Anderson and Trumble finished sixth in 3:29.71. The 200-yard medley relay team of Nathanael Dick, Jace Schmidt, Trumble and Anderson finished seventh in 1:47.58. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Dick, Jonathan Paden, Jace Schmidt and Anderson finished fourth in the consolation finals, 12th overall, in 1:36.21. Non finalists for the Railers included Dick in the 200-yard freestyle, taking 22nd in 2:01.16. Newton loses eight seniors, including six state qualifiers. Newton looks to return two state qualifiers. “We lose some really good senior leadership, hard workers,” Philip Schmidt said. “We lose some guys who are instrumental in working with the younger guys before the season starter. Some of the younger guys will have to learn from that and step up, working with the new guys next year. I can’t be a part of that. That’s something the team leaders need to pick up if they’re willing. “When I started coaching, I always freaked out about the seniors I’ve lost. But once those seniors move on, the sophomores and juniors step up. I’m confident some juniors and sophomore will do what they need to do. We’ll have some (club swimmers) come in for us next year. I was really impressed with some of the freshmen I had this season. We had one freshman who came out from the club. There were four or five who didn’t come in with a lot of experience. Several of these freshmen are capable of making state next year. Hopefully, they keep working in the off-season. I don’t do a lot with weights, but they need to work with weights in the off-season.”

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